CITY ROOM; Bathed in 1,200 New Lights, Empire State Building Will Star in More Vivid Shows

By ERIC A. TAUB

Published: May 8, 2012

When redesigning the exterior lighting for one of the world's best-known buildings, how should you proceed?

With much greater energy efficiency, a significantly wider palette of more intense colors and a lot of panache.

That is the tack that the owners of the Empire State Building are taking with their decision to replace its 400 existing standard lamps - technology that was introduced to coincide with the 1976 bicentennial - with 1,200 newly designed fixtures using the latest LED technology.

Because the colors of each LED fixture can be manipulated independently and instantaneously via computer, lighting effects - including rainbows, ripples, cross-fades and burst effects - can be created that appear to be animated, continuously moving and changing.

''We'll have some real fun with our ability to manipulate the new lights,'' said Anthony E. Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, an affiliate of the entity that owns the building. The announcement on the new lighting is scheduled to be made on Wednesday.

Of course, changing the lighting on such a prominent building is fraught with not only financial considerations, but also ethical responsibilities. Just because technology creates the ability to stage rock-concert-like light shows on the walls of one of the world's most recognizable buildings does not mean that is what should be done.

Fear not, Mr. Malkin said.

''We want the Hong Kong experience,'' he said, referring to the often-dramatic lighting seen on buildings there, but ''we won't be showing TV shows on the side of the building.''

The installation of the LED fixtures will begin in a few weeks and will be completed sometime in the fall; it will save 75 percent in annual energy costs and will last three to six times longer than the existing fixtures.

The timing of the new lighting is serendipitous. The significant improvement in the look of the building at night could draw additional attention to the building just as 1 World Trade Center is claiming its status as the tallest building in New York.

With the new LED fixtures, bought from Philips Color Kinetics, based in Massachusetts, the Empire State Building will be illuminated with millions of deep, rich colors and subtle pastels, compared with a limited palette of 10 colors from the existing lamps, which also tend to flicker and produce different brightnesses depending on the color.

The existing lamps project static colors only after gels are placed on top of each one, a process that takes a crew of seven workers up to seven hours. With LED lamps, color changes can be made immediately.

''When the Yankees win the pennant, we can put pinstripes on one side of the building and solid blue on the other,'' said Jeff Campbell, director of architectural products for Philips Color Kinetics.

The retrofit was originally conceived four years ago. ''At that time, the costs were very high and the illumination was not impressive enough,'' Mr. Malkin said.

He decided to go ahead with the project now because the newest LED fixtures produce seven times as much light as the earlier units. The lighting will be on the 72nd and 81st floors. The building's mast, which is now lighted with fluorescent tubes, will also receive an LED upgrade.

One thing the public will not see is corporate logos flashing along the walls. ''We'll maintain the traditional iconic international recognition that the Empire State Building has,'' Mr. Malkin said.

The lighting retrofit is part of an energy efficiency package to which Malkin Holdings committed itself when it gained control of the building in 2006.

Working with the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute, the company embarked on a major energy efficiency retrofit with the switch to light-emitting diodes being a small part. In addition, the company has revamped its ventilation system and the building's insulation, and upgraded its existing windows.

''The building was state of the art when it was built, and when we're done with our retrofit, there will be no more technically advanced building,'' Mr. Malkin said.

The switch to LED fixtures, which will cost ''a few million dollars,'' he said, will pay for itself in six years.

With the new lighting retrofit, ''the owners of the Empire State Building have a unique responsibility'' not to mess up, said Paul Gregory, a principal in Focus Lighting, an architectural lighting design firm based in New York. Focus Lighting has used LEDs to redesign the lighting in F. A. O. Schwarz's flagship store on Fifth Avenue, in the Aureole restaurant in Manhattan and on the exterior of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee, among others.

With LEDs, Mr. Gregory said, ''you can create a light painting that's not bludgeoned with color.''

''Lighting can help you see the beauty in nature,'' he continued, ''and help you understand how small you are in comparison.''

With well-constructed lighting, Mr. Gregory added, ''you realize you're not as important as you think you are; that's an accomplishment.''

''And,'' he continued, ''the Empire State Building can do that.''

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.

PHOTO: The owners of the Empire State Building are replacing its standard lamps with fixtures using the latest LED technology. (PHOTOGRAPH BY PHILIPS COLOR KINETICS)